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Welcome to October EcoChallenge!

Watch the short video below to learn the basics.
You'll be an EcoChallenge expert in no time!

Northwest Earth Institute
October EcoChallenge
October 3 - October 24, 2018

Melissa Walton Hendricks

City of Portland Office of Management & Finance (OMF)

Points Total

  • 0 Today
  • 0 This Week
  • 2,337 Total

Participant Impact

  • up to
    1
    documentaries
    watched
  • up to
    210
    minutes
    being mindful
  • up to
    360
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • up to
    88
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • up to
    150
    minutes
    spent learning
  • up to
    300
    minutes
    spent exercising

Challenges

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 1 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

Completed
One-Time Challenge

Nature

Go for a Daily Walk

I will take a 15-minute walk outside each day.

COMPLETED 20 OF 22
DAILY CHALLENGE

Community

Support Native Communities

I will use the resource links provided and spend 60 minutes learning about the native populations that lived in my area prior to colonization, and what I can do to support those that still exist.

Completed
One-Time Challenge

Nature

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.

Completed
One-Time Challenge

Simplicity

Meditate

I will meditate or create a moment of silence for 10 minute(s) each day to reflect on things important to me.

COMPLETED 21 OF 22
DAILY CHALLENGE

Energy

Adjust the Thermostat

I will adjust my thermostat down 2 degrees from usual when I use the heat, and up 2 degrees when I use air conditioning.

COMPLETED 22 OF 22
DAILY CHALLENGE

Health

Happiness

I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

COMPLETED 21 OF 22
DAILY CHALLENGE

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 2 meatless meal(s) and/or 2 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 22 OF 22
DAILY CHALLENGE

Feed

  • Reflection Question
    Food Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty
    How does food sovereignty address the complex agrarian transition to modern food systems?
    Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/24/2018 11:44 AM
    Food sovereignty addresses this complex transition by allowing communities to define and produce their own food systems. If a modification to a traditional food source is needed, the community can choose (and produce) a culturally appropriate food themselves.

    When these decisions are dictated to a people the dictated item may be unacceptable for a variety of reasons (not a culturally sound practice, not something they can produce for themselves in their climate, etc.). Giving the power back to indigenous communities allows them to make these highly personal and important decisions for themselves.
  • Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/24/2018 11:31 AM
    In reflecting back on my challenges the easiest ended up being the termostat! Once I set it to the lower temperature I just left it there and quickly adapted (read: more blankets!).

    The hardest ended up being the 10 minutes of meditation. It was surprisingly hard to carve out 10 minutes of alone/ quiet time. I picked that one because I thought it would be easy to incorporate, but it required a lot more thoughtfulness than I anticipated.
  • Reflection Question
    Nature Explore My Area
    How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place?
    Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/21/2018 7:06 PM
    The more I explore Oregon, the more I feel at home here.
    20181021_183614.jpg 2.31 MB
  • Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/20/2018 7:15 AM
    We've picked a new hiking trail to explore ths weekend with the good weather - looking forward to checking off this one time challenge!  
  • Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/19/2018 12:41 PM
    If you've never seen this interactive map of indigenous tribes - you should take a few minutes and explore it! https://native-land.ca/ 
  • Reflection Question
    Community Support Native Communities
    Indigenous speaker and activist Winona LaDuke says that, "most indigenous ceremonies, if you look to their essence, are about the restoration of balance — they are a reaffirmation of our relationship to creation. That is our intent: to restore, and then to retain balance and honor our part in creation." Why is balance important to sustainability?
    Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/19/2018 12:30 PM
    Balance is crucial to sustainability because without it you either completely mow over the natural world in relentless pursuit of capitalism, or you ignore the very real economic impacts (especially on vulnerable populations) of implementing restrictions to protect the natural world. We must support one another economically in order to promote true sustainable changes. If you cannot meet your basic needs of clean water, nourishing food, warm shelter, education for your children, medical care, etc. then you cannot look beyond those immediate needs to improve and protect the natural world. A local example: Housed residents complaining about the degradation of natural areas by houseless residents occupying those spaces. It's a true issue. But these are folks without access to shelter, likely intermittant access to food and medical care - how can we ask or expect them to be outraged about damage to a prairie if we're not outraged about their economic insecurity? 
  • Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/13/2018 8:55 PM
    It's easy to do outdoor challenges when the weather is this perfect! I hope some of you were able to get outside today, too!
  • Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/12/2018 5:02 PM
    I just want to say how proud I am of our team. Look at our dashboard, OMF - we are making a difference by pooling our small changes!
  • Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/09/2018 11:12 AM
    Instead of writing down "3 good things" I've been sending a quick email to folks expressing my gratitude for the last few days. It's made me even more reflective than writing down 3 things. I'm really enjoying this challenge. 
  • Melissa Walton Hendricks 10/08/2018 10:30 AM
    I didn't quite hit all my goals this weekend - ready to recommit this week!
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